San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg calls out Dan Patrick’s ‘fear-mongering’ rhetoric toward immigrants
Nirenberg’s comments come after Patrick went onto Fox News and repeatedly said Texas is being “invaded” by migrants on Tuesday, July 5. Patrick said, “It makes me ill every time I hear because they are just lying to people. We are being invaded.”
Because he believes Texas is under attack, Patrick said it should give officials the power to put their hands on people and send them back. Patrick then said, “we’re being attacked just like we were on Pearl Harbor.”
After Patrick’s interview, Nirenberg slammed the Texas leader on Twitter on Tuesday. He tweeted, “The Lt. Gov’s fear-mongering rhetoric is reckless and divisive – especially toward our Latino, Hispanic, and immigrant communities. We need humane policy reforms, not political scapegoats.”
San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro also shared his thoughts about Patrick’s words. He tweeted, “@DanPatrick is an out-of-control bigot who’s going to get people killed with his rhetoric.”
On Tuesday, judges, mayors, and leaders from several counties in Texas announced emergency declarations to be issued this week in the face of what they describe as an “invasion” at the southern border. Many are calling on Gov. Greg Abbott to enforce federal immigration laws that will physically send migrants back to their countries of origin.
“This hysteria is dangerous,” San Antonio state representative Diego Bernal wrote on Twitter about Patrick and the leaders who are declaring an invasion. “It’s also a distraction. Vote him out so we don’t have to deal with this nonsense any longer.”
